Shiro
Space Dad '''is a skilled pilot of legendary reputation and is the leader of the five Paladins of Voltron, and is the Paladin of the Black Lion of Voltron. Is now dead. Space dad, more like space '''DEAD! History Originally an exploration pilot for the Galaxy Garrison, he was on a mission with Dr. Holt and his son, Matt, who disappeared while on a mission to one of Pluto's moons, and at that point was the furthest that humans had ever journeyed into the universe. While their disappearance was officially documented by the Earth's governments as crew error, the three of them were abducted by the Galra Empire. Shiro and Matt Holt were sent to fight in Emperor Zarkon's Gladiatorial Arena. While there, Shiro could sense Matt's trepidation and fear, and in a bid to protect him, he knocked him to the ground, injuring him badly enough to send Matt to a minor labor colony with his father. In this action, Shiro created a façade for himself as a bloodthirsty warrior. While captive, he became the reigning champion, and underwent extreme physical and mental scarring. The full extent of his trauma is unknown, but his memories became suppressed, and after his escape he had difficulty willfully recalling his memories of his time captive. What is known is that his right arm was replaced with a weaponized Galra tech prosthetic capable of energy emission powerful enough to cut through most metals and weld doors shut. He also gained a lateral scar across the bridge of his nose, part of his black hair turned white from the extreme stress, and even his skin appears paler. Then he died in season 2. Personality Shiro's personality is that of a born leader, naturally adept at calmly commanding his team. Although he holds a commanding presence, Shiro is actually quite sensitive and kind. For example when he revealed to Pidge that he knew she was a girl, he revealed to her why he injured Matt, as Pidge previously believed that Shiro was simply a vicious killing machine when his gladiator past was revealed. When Pidge teared up and hugged Shiro, he embraced her like a younger sister, as he felt for her loss and strong desire to find his missing crew. Among his team, Shiro is closest to Pidge as far as his personal relationships go, often calming down the excitable and stubborn Green Paladin, and treating her like a younger sister when not issuing commands. Shiro's skills as a leader are further enhanced by the familial bond he forms with all of his teammates, which is how he knew who Pidge really was, having worked extensively with her father and brother. Despite how serious and straightforward Shiro can be, he can also be just as silly and laid back as his friends when he has the chance, such as when his friends were making "laser noises," he initially sided with Keith on knocking it off before engaging himself, causing the Red Paladin to appear embarrassed that his leader was acting so ridiculously. Shiro's experiences as a gladiator have appeared to have left him suffering from a degree of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is noticeable when he has momentary flashbacks when confronted with particular stimuli. These flashbacks are actually invasive memories, which are typically triggered in people suffering post-traumatic stress by things that are connected or similar to features or stimuli that one experienced during trauma. Normally Shiro just brushes it off, but when he was confronted by Haggar, he started to lose control of his emotions and became frantic, wild; certainly not the disciplined warrior most people know him to be. He is also known to feel somewhat disgusted by his Galra tech prosthetic hand, as his conversation with Sendak's memories in their Altean container managed to pry at this insecurity of his that his cyborg arm is the strongest part of him, making him part of the Galra. This moment of psychological warfare was enough to cause Shiro to jettison Sendak and his cryo-pod into deep space due to his deep-seated fears that the Galra Commander revealed to Shiro. This tendency to make irrational choices based on trauma despite being extremely collected most of the time is another one of Shiro's symptoms of extreme, but well restrained PTSD. Shiro embodies the Black Lion's elemental affiliation of Air in that he is the current that guides his fellow Paladins and keeps them on course, and that his personality can be kind and gentle while also being a powerful and overwhelming force of nature. And like air, Shiro serves as the fuel to the fire of the Team's spirit and will to fight. Abilities Shiro is a pilot of almost unheard of ability. He is a natural pilot of legendary reputation back on Earth, where his skills made him a hero to many aspiring pilots such as Lance and Keith. In addition to his skills piloting human ships, Shiro was also a master pilot of the Black Lion. His bond with Black was so deep that Shiro was the only Paladin to pass the blind dive training exercise, allowing him to see through Black's senses and body. Shiro was also known to be among the most skilled in hand-to-hand combat among the Paladins. Shiro's lean and muscular build marks him as possessing incredible athletic abilities that allow him to rival even the likes of Hunk in terms of raw strength, and able to duck and dodge with great agility and grace, rivaling Keith's speed, Pidge's balance, and Lance's precision. Shiro's greatest asset is his superb tactical mind and leadership skills, allowing him to take on stronger foes such as Myzax in both the gladiator pit and on Arus in Voltron. Shiro regularly and skillfully inspired his team with his charismatic personality and indomitable spirit, able to bring them from the depths of defeat and ignite their will to win, allowing them to push back with the strength of a true army, acting as one. He is also skilled in military tactics, which is how he learned the guards' routines aboard the prison ship where he was held. Shiro is also skilled at reading the tactical weaknesses of others, devising plans based on their weak points, and often drawing out fights against stronger foes to learn any and all possible faults in their fighting styles and move sets. A quality that very much describes Shiro is dynamic. He is able to endure and withstand just about anything, often adapting on the fly to new threats and environments. Despite his PTSD, Shiro is still able to fight back and endure incredible levels of stress, both mental and physical, and is skilled at concealing this trauma from his friends and allies most of the time. His ability to conceal this also marks Shiro as a rather talented actor. This talent for acting was best witnessed during his time as a gladiator in Zarkon's arena, where he quickly concocted a bloodthirsty and homicidal persona in order to protect his comrade, Matt Holt, from the dangers of the ring. This performance was thoroughly convincing as even Matt appeared terrified of his friend's aggression and zeal, as were the rest of Zarkon's prisoners who bore witness to Shiro's actions. Shiro's Galra tech prosthetic arm gave him a number of abilities that enhanced his prowess in combat, such as energy emission that he could use to cut through various dense materials such as metal, often using his hand like a sword to slice his enemies with energy blades. Shiro could also interface with Galra computers and systems through his prosthetic arm, making him the only Paladin to be able to access enemy installations despite not understanding anything about the Galra's technology. The arm also afforded Shiro a degree of superhuman strength and durability, given that it was able to handle direct blows from Sendak and others without any apparent damage to the arm or the surrounding tissue even when not encased in armor. Shiro's duel with Sendak displays this durability at its peak, as Sendak's own cybernetic arm was capable of rending steel and delivering devastating attacks, yet Shiro's arm was able to absorb a head-on attack with no difficulty at all. This lack of damage to his organic body parts suggests that his body may have had a few upgrades or augmentations as well to handle the increased strain of his new limb's enhanced strength. Notes * Shiro shares the name of [[Beast King GoLion|''Go Lion's]] Shirogane Takashi, who would become Sven under WEP. Rather than the leader, he was the second-in-command, under Keith. *Shiro's full name is revealed during the flashback of Pidge's backstory, when she sees a TV news announcement of the Kerberos mission declaring the crew dead. *Shiro's name means white in Japanese, shiro (白), opposed to his position as the black paladin. *Shiro, 25, is the oldest of the paladinshttps://twitter.com/heyyezra/status/756553937449132032. *The season 2 trailer hints towards Shiro's recapturement by the Galra Empire. References Gallery Official stats - Shiro.png|Official stats. Shiro casual.png|Shiro's casual outfit. 4. The first of many 'oh snap' moments for Shiro.png|The first of many 'oh sh--' moments for Shiro. Matt_Shiro_and_Sam.png 7. Shiro protests to the Galra.png Blackhairshiro.png|Shiro's appearance early in his enslavement to the Galra 41. Is that a cliff.png Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge & Hunk.jpg|The soon-to-be Paladins tracking down the Blue Lion Team Voltron in Cave.jpg Vlcsnap-2016-06-14-01h46m51s236.png|Shiro and the team panicking while Lance pilots Pidge, Shiro and Sloth-Like Creature.png|Shiro and Pidge taking in the majestic scenery. 70. Shiro gives Lance the Team Dad glare.png|Shiro glares at Lance, stopping him in the middle of another bit of racy innuendo. Team Voltron - LD.png 9. Shiro elevator to Black Lion.png|Shiro gets to ride an elevator before his zip line. 18. Shiro traveling to his lion.png 50. Shiro mindmeld image - ship launch (mission to Kerberors maybe).png|Same ship as in the background of Pidge's picture with her brother. Shiro & Pidge during mental exercise.png|Shiro reasoning with Pidge 56. Shiro has flashback fighting the Gladiator bot.png|The first of many PTSD flashbacks. Shirogoo.png Pidge_&_Shiro.png|Shiro and Pidge having a bonding moment Team Voltron in Castle Ship.jpg Shiro, Pidge and Galra's Prisoners.jpg Shiro & Galra Prisoners.jpg Shiro, Matt, Former Galra Prisoners & Galra Robot Soldier.png|Shiro taking charge to save Matt from the gladiator pit Pidge, Former Galra Prisoners and Shiro.jpg 38. Shiro powers up Galra compuer.png|Shiro's power glove is much, much cooler than that other one. 92. Shiro facing down gladiator Myzaks.png|Shiro facing the gladiator Myzax. Kerberos_Mission_Disappears.png 14. Matt Shiro and other aliens face the arena.png 74. Shiro forgets basic first aid.png|Shiro promptly forgets every bit of first aid training he undoubtedly had. 88. Shiro carrying Lance - oh crap.png|Shiro, no. ''You do not sack carry someone with internal injuries. 93. Enemy fisticuffs.png|''You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?'' Team Voltron in Another Planet.png Lance, Pidge, Shiro, Keith and Hunk.png Team Voltron Will Dress Uniforms.png|Suit up! Shiro and Sendak.png|Shiro attempts to interrogate Sendak. Shiro and Allura in Galra Battleship.png Shiro's Thought.png|Shiro thinks space center. Shiro Does Not Understand.jpg Shiro, Keith and Lance.jpg 5. Run away run away.png Category:Voltron: Legendary Defender characters